Fluid dampeners and linear decelerators are commonly used to maintain or reduce the velocity or acceleration of an object or apparatus. These applications are typically utilized to control the speed or acceleration of an object so that the object may be more easily controlled or manipulated.
Many of these fluid dampeners or linear decelerators utilize “accumulator” designs, that is, they displace oil or fluid from a chamber to a reservoir. The reservoir may contain some method or device by which the oil or fluid is pressurized so that when given the opportunity, the oil or fluid may freely flow back to its original chamber. Commonly known designs have utilized foam inserts and/or flexible bladders to create a pressurized reservoir for the oil or fluid. Other designs utilize spring biased plates or walls which move and compress the spring under the pressure of oil or fluid.
The disadvantage with such fluid dampeners and linear decelerators is that they can only function under moderate cycle times when utilized to dampen the cycling by an object or device. Typically, the fastest cycle rates that these devices can be utilized for is one standard cycle per second. The speed at which such fluid dampeners and linear decelerators can cycle is a function of how fast the fluid or oil can move between a chamber and the accumulating reservoir. Such designs prevent these devices from providing quick repetitive cycling.
An example of a fast cycle rate application is the bolt action of a fully automatic firearm or what is commonly referred to a as a “machine gun”. The rate at which the bolt action of these firearms opens and closes between firing rounds is approximately 1800 rounds per minute or 30 rounds or cycles per second. This is what is deemed to be the natural frequency of the machine gun's bolt action. However, the natural frequency of the machine gun is far too fast for an operator to safely and accurately operate the firearm. The speed at which a user can accurately and safely utilize such a firearm is approximately 750 rounds per minute or 12½ rounds or cycles per second.
It would be desirable to provide a fluid dampener that could properly operate at a high frequency cycling rate.